Right-Things Right-Now Marketing

There’s no better way for your organization to get your supporters’ and prospects’ attention (media attention, too) than hooking into what’s top of mind. Your people are already thinking about these topics and issues, so are far more likely to connect with your campaign than at other times.

That’s right-things, right-now marketing and I’ve seen some fantastic Mother’s Day models from nonprofits like yours in the last few weeks. Here are two of the very best:

Update: Thanks to community member Phyllis Nunkis who brought 4 Kids’ deceptive practices and false advertising to my attention. Kids4Kars doesn’t meet the Better Business Bureau’s standards for Charity Accountability, and the organization has been the subject of many, many complaints from consumers over the years. It is unfortunate to see smart, creative marketing used for the wrong purposes,” says Phyllis.

She’s 100% correct, but the best response we can have is to use this effective model to spur our own marketing innovation. Go to it!

What a morning! Our daughter, Charlotte, is off to her 5th-grade camping trip today and woke up with a challenging combo of anxiety and excitement—about having the right clothes, the weather, and every other facet of the trip she could imagine. Between us, it was a nightmare getting her out of the house this morning and a huge relief to watch the bus pulling away.

So how timely that that I saw this Kids 4 Kars campaign first thing today. Talk about getting my attention!

You know it, and I know it. Connecting with your audience is harder than ever. And that means more of your org’s messages than ever before are ignored or deleted.

So how do we cut through the noise? And how do we motivate donors to donate and supporters to take action? We have to make our messages relevant.

That’s right-things, right-now marketing and I’m thrilled to introduce you to our Empathy Map tool to help you get there!

Note from Nancy: This Empathy Mapping technique is the perfect complement to developing personas—learn how to do that here. Then put your results together and you’ll have a 360-dgree profile of the folks you want to engage. That’s right-things, right-now marketing, and that makes you a 5-star messenger!READ MORE

Welcome to guest blogger Joleen Ong, who is the Marketing & Publications Director at NTEN—the community of nonprofit professionals who put technology to work for their causes.

Successful integrated marketing goes beyond the communications products you put out there in the world. Don’t forget your internal process.

The pattern I see in so many nonprofits is a hyper-focus on what content to create and post, but neglect of the critical internal factors that enable success, such as collaborating across departments. But…

I awoke yesterday morning to a 6″ topper of new snow here in New Jersey, adding to the 24″ already there. Then we picked up the voice mail from 4:32 a.m., alerting us to a two-hour school delay. Ugh, it’s like Groundhog Day come to life.

After getting our daughter going on her homework project, I finally got to my desk and scanned my emails…

Remember when your leadership and board members were scared stiff about social media? And when, in many organizations, that was followed by intense pressure to get on social media pronto to achieve perhaps-impossible goals, WITHOUT additional resources?

Based on what I hear from many of you, we’re in the same boat with big data right now.

I’ve seen so many fantastic examples from nonprofits linking what’s top of mind this week (Halloween, for many, if not for all) with their campaigns and orgs. Thanks to Kerri Karvetski for showcasing several strong nonprofit models here.

But many orgs are moving forward with “just do it” Halloween-linked marketing, rather than relevant marketing that deepens understanding of the organization and/or motivates action. And that becomes who-cares, right-now marketing. Here’s what I mean.

This post by Dan Moyle was originally published on the Talons Out Honor flight blog. Thanks for sharing, Dan, and kudos for your great work here.

Last week the U.S. Government shut down. It’s a serious story, with implications abounding. Unemployment, services cut off to those in need, chaos in Washington, D.C. (well maybe that’s far-fetched—it’s already chaotic there). However, the shutdown also affected me in an unexpected way—I turned the headlines into a story to get attention (and donations, I hope) for Honor Flight.

THIS is what you need to do to connect with your people (supporters, prospects, partners, staff, leadership and volunteers all) and move them to take the actions you need.

Take newsjacking one step further—to integrate what’s going on inside of your peoples’ heads—as well as in the world around them and you, to focus your marketing messages, format, channel and delivery time. Here’s a great example…

Friday was tough here in the Northeast. The real blizzard was still en route but the pelting ice outside made outside play impossible. Every child I know was yearning for snow and, with school closed or cut to a half day, sick of being stuck inside. Ugh!

So when this tweet and the email below crossed my lens, I thought, “Wow, these folks really get me. And if they get me, I’m more interested in what they have to say.” (post continues below email)

Take a look at the possibilities: The Oreo marketing team posted this photo ad on their Facebook page within a few minutes of the blackout. It was exactly the right message for viewers at exactly the right moment.

There are three reasons Oreo grabbed this win—17,500 shares, 6,500 shares—in a flash at a tiny cost. They: